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How Does A Laser Cutting Work？ [27 Feb 2024|06:02am] The abundant use of steel in industries such as construction, automotive, shipbuilding etc.has given a huge thrust to the alloy manufacturing industry. Iron ore is found in abundance across the globe, this further contributes to a growing demand for steel which is extensively used in certain industries. Increasing population, improving the standard of living, growing demand for new houses, more automobiles are further contributing to a growth in the demand for ferro alloy. The ferro alloy manufacturing industry is witnessing a significant change in strategies with larger companies acquiring smaller ones and many companies trying to increase production capacities to deal with competition and to counter high operational costs. Modern management initiatives like Six Sigma and excellent Supply Chain Management are being incorporated into the manufacturing process to yield better returns for ferro alloy manufacturers. The Genesis The production of ferro alloy began around 1917 in India when companies such as IISCO Steel Plant and Tata Steel started production of ferro alloys. The lack of efficient smelting technology in India was compensated with the use of high grades of ore, reductants, and fluxes. Diversification In the 1980s this industry witnessed extensive product diversification with the use of advanced technology. During this period, export-oriented units were created that further helped companies grow their revenues. The Growth With the abolishment of licenses in the early 1990s, there was a gradual growth in the ferro alloy WNMG Insert capacities in various parts of the country. Liberalization contributed to the emergence of many ferro-alloy manufacturers. However, most of these manufacturers are dependent on the supplies of raw materials from government agencies for production. Global Competition The increasing cost of power needed for the manufacturing of ferro alloys in countries such as South Africa and China have helped Indian producers get larger market share. However, there is a growing threat from countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia which is having an impact on the profitability of Indian ferroalloy producers. While the global demand for this is steadily going up, the inefficient players are finding it difficult to survive in an extremely competitive environment. The immediate issue of manufacturers SNMG Insert in India is to deal with challenges posed by high energy consumption required for the manufacturing of ferroalloys and the need to maintain product quality while not compromising on the cost of production. However, with research, they can strive to improve the properties of various types of alloys and steel. By adding alloying elements in the right quantities, they can enhance the properties of the alloys manufactured by them. India's total potential output is 3.16 million tpy of manganese alloys, 250,000 tpy of ferro-silicon, 1.69 million tpy of chrome alloys, and 5,000 tpy of noble ferro-alloys. India ranks 1st in the world for the export of Silico Manganese and ranks 4th in the world for the export of Ferro Manganese. With the increasing efforts to grow the industry, companies will be investing in knowledge and technology to be able to manufacture better quality alloys. Through the help of the above described article, you can easily understand the ferro alloy manufacturing in India. The Cemented Carbide Blog: peeling inserts post comment

Cutting Mat Where to Buy a Superior Self Healing Cutting Mat？ [19 Feb 2024|08:13am] Cranes are an important part of any lifting, hoisting and construction job. This equipment streamlines processes and shortens project timelines, all of which benefit your bottom line. However, inappropriate crane handling can lead to serious injury and even death on the worksite. That's why an overhead crane manufacturer always advises to be cautious and take precautionary measures. Overhead Cranes and JIB Cranes Are Crucial Part of Worksites Cranes are very strong units of machinery that allow big items to be lifted on building sites. JIB cranes, however, are potential risks, as both the cranes and the loads they lift can cause serious harm if managed incorrectly. In the industrial and construction machinery industries, crane mishaps are a prominent source of mortality. Cranes are unquestionably safe because of technological advancements, but entire worksite safety is dependent on the steps contractors and personnel take to avoid mishaps. Whether you want to buy an electric wire rope hoist, a soft start geared motor or an electric winch, ensure the overhead crane manufacturer is experienced and reliable. Tips to Operate Cranes in Worksites Carefully and Safely Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when using cranes in the workplace- Make Sure Your Operations Are Safe To limit the danger of accidents, plan your workplace before beginning any crane activities. Comply with Regulatory standards for identifying hazardous zones in the workplace, specifically. Increase awareness about hazardous work environments among employees, such as those near electrical lines. Mark these areas with indicators to help make sure that the crane's hoist and barrel do not override into the dangerous work zones. Educate Employees Employers are required by law to give training to all crane operators who handle equipment weighing less than 2,000 pounds. Crane operations have become more complicated as technology has advanced. Employees should be trained on overall crane procedures, load capacities, and lifting needs by a skilled trainer. Cranes are only allowed to be operated by inexperienced individuals during official training. Working with qualified and licensed employees can increase safety while also helping you avoid costly workers' claims for compensation. Don't Overload Crane overloading is a major cause of crane failure and structural mishaps. Use load-measuring devices to determine the maximum load and the crane's production capability to prevent these scenarios. Even overloading should be avoided in electric wire rope hoist too. Overloading can be caused by frequent blunders such as lifting a rope from the side, hauling and lowering cargo, and employing defective parts and equipment when handling a crane. Ensure Correct Application Using overhead cranes for the wrong duties on the worksite is a typical blunder that puts workers and assets at risk. Don't try hoisting workers. Though this may appear to be a cost-effective method of moving personnel around the site, it increases the chance of accidents and equipment failure. Choose safe options like overhead cranes or JIB cranes. Another Cemented Carbide Inserts pitfall to avoid is storing tools with cranes. Cranes are widely used to hold tools and warehouse equipment. In the event that the crane topples or sways in heavy winds, others on the worksite are put in danger. Ensure that staffs are familiar with the proper equipment storage methods. Prevent Materials from Falling Worksites with overhead cranes and tumbling materials are a severe threat. Avoid hazards from falling materials by maintaining hoist lines on a regular basis. This entails determining the hoist's maximum capacity and checking for indicators of mechanical damage that could jeopardize safety. Loads that are not securely held might fall on employees, lead to damage, and end up causing mechanical failure. Planned maintenance of machinery is important since it can assist discover operating issues VNMG Insert and prevent accidents. Inspect the hoist, check the loading chain for any breakage, and make sure the hooks are in perfect working order before starting crane activities. Furthermore, all staff should wear adequate protective suits while on the worksite to avoid falling items. Have Proper Communication To avoid operational failures in active workplaces, adequate communication is important. Use sufficient communication devices, such as air horns and radios, and train employees with sign language. In loud surroundings, use hand indicators to allow workers to transmit precise signals about when to raise, move, or drop weight. Summing Up The most crucial word of advice is to never stand under a burden. As per the study, a weight movement, load fall, or unbalanced load caused 34 percent of crane accidents and deaths and roughly 37 percent of crane accident damages. A weight falling might have a one in 100,000 or one in one million probability of falling, but that's too great of a risk worth taking. Adopting industry and government standards can serve to strengthen worksite safe operation. Furthermore, safety involves carrying the required equipment to the worksite. If you want to have a sense of security and safety at work, always partner with a reliable and experienced crane manufacturer. The Cemented Carbide Blog: high feed milling Insert post comment

Arch Global Solutions Acquires American Tool Service and OrthoGrind [31 Jan 2024|01:57am] We so often write about job shops and the tools and technology those shops rely on that it can be easy to forget one important factor: The companies that manufacture these tools — including machine tool suppliers — face many of the same production challenges that machine shops and machine tool users do.  Mazak, for example, has been pioneering automation solutions for its customers for decades, building off of its Palletech system that launched in the 1980s as a solution that ties multiple machining centers together under the same manufacturing cell controller software. Since that time, the company has continuously updated this system, most recently by adapting and applying it to machine tool component production as part of an $8.5 million investment into the company’s own capabilities at its North American headquarters in Florence, Kentucky. During a recent visit to this facility I had a chance to learn about this automated production line, including its automated storage and retreival system called the Mazatec Smart Manufacturing System, or SMS. Taken together, the system represents an integrated manufacturing cell designed to perform unmanned machining through the use of horizontal machining centers and multitasking machines, along with the material handling technology of Murata Machinery. Murata is best known for its expansive capabilities in material handling, and — in the case of the SMS — its vertically orientated, modular, six-level stocker-type system that includes pallets, automated load stations and high-speed stacker crane.  As a whole, this unit can best be described as as a machine tool production unit, a demonstration facility, and a solution to the same struggles around skilled labor and lead times that Mazak shares with its customers as a manufacturer.  Along with two Murata stocker systems, the core of the SMS cell consists of two HCN-6800 horizontal machining centers that accommodate 680 mm pallets, three HCN-8800 HMCs that can accept up to 1000 mm round pallets, and a Mazak Integrex E-1250 five-axis multitasking machine. Each machine is serviced by a tool transport robot that extends the effective tool capacity per machine to 1,800 tools. Each of these tools is stored either in a common tool hive or within the machines’ individual tool magazine, and each is outfitted with an RFID computer chip that stores information about tool performance and expected life. Everything in the SMS cell — from the two stocker systems to the machine tools, to the coolant tank, to the Mazak SmartBoxes that are mounted to the side of each machine enclosure (more on that in a minute) — is connected to and commanded by a single cell controller. The goal with this cell for Mazak is twofold: It uses it to produce major component parts for its mid-sized machining center product lines. This includes turret bases, carriages, sub-carriages and several other high-precision parts. The other goal? To achieve the unmanned machining of these parts. To push a button and walk away. For hours. Or days. Many of the machining facilities we typically write about have this same goal. When I talked to the production personnel overseeing the system at Mazak, it became clear that some of the challenges in achieving this goal — and some of the ways this team and this system respond to them — are the shared by small and large machine shops alike.  The core concept of Mazak’s automated production cell has been around since the company first introduced its Palletech system. But it is the capability of the cell’s SmartBox IIoT technology and its manufacturing cell controller software that sets it apart from its own systems from years past. These Smartbox devices are attached to each machine tool enclosure. They are edge-of-machine controls that provide data security and are designed to ease the connection of the machines to a Web-enabled, plant-wide network. When combined with Murata’s automated system control and Mazak’s production management software, called Smooth PMC, all components of the cell can interconnect and synchronize with a customer’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) host and manufacturing execution system (MES), in order to monitor operations, view and change schedules as needed, issue instructions, manage part program files and track tool life. With this connectivity in place, a cell can handle system configurations that include up to 16 machines, anywhere from six to 240 pallets, and up to eight loading stations. The goal then, and now, has been to optimize labor and allow a single operator to control multiple machines. Mazak first installed and configured a similar system back in 1988 after the company expanded its Kentucky facility, using the same concept of utilizing a material side and a pallet side for the stackers to feed several machine tools in a cell. Rocky Rowland, Mazak’s flexible manufacturing facility manager, told me during a recent visit to the facility that the game changer for the SMS has been the automatic storage and retrieval system that ties different types of machines together, along with different pallet sizes, all of which are fed by a single stacker crane. “In the old system, we had two stackers, two racks, two rails, and two operating systems,” he says. “So it was just very difficult to try to control. But now we've combined those components together with new technology and are able to run all if it in one system.” Kevin Sekerak, Mazak’s longtime plant manager at the Kentucky plant, estimated that his team is about halfway toward the goal of utilizing the SMS cell for unmanned machining that can take place over a weekend. COVID-19 interrupted his team’s progress toward that goal, of course, but so did the natural progression of new product lines for machine tools. New parts and components that Mazak introduced during the middle of 2020 meant pivoting toward a new batch of test cuts for these parts. But Sekerak and Rowland say that the goal of 100% unmanned machining for weekend shifts is on the horizon. The steps necessary to get there from here, they say, are already known. Here’s how Rocky Rowland explains the future life of a finished part for a Mazak machine tool manufactured on the SMS cell over an unmanned weekend shift. All tools, including tool duplicates to last for a weekend, have been set up using a Zoller presetter. No matter if the tool manufacturer is Kennametal, Sandvik, Seco Tools, or another brand, the tool is equipped with an RFID chip that stores all the tool information needed for use on the system. This data is generated from cloud-based data from the various tooling suppliers, which is then loaded into CAD/CAM system (Mastercam, in Mazak’s case). The raw materials, typically castings, arrive. An operator loads the raw material from the process side to the material side of the cell, while another begins loading parts onto fixtures for first and second ops to ensure that they are ready for the machines. The coolant pans are filled. Enough pallets are loaded to run through the weekend — maybe 20 if you assume two-to-four-hour cycle times. When all of these necessities are met, “the Palletech software says go,” Sekerak says. “Really, at that point, all operators go home. If we have 20 or 30 parts that are in the Palletech system, the machines just cycle through them one by one.” When the next machine becomes available, it pulls the part program from the network and begins to load tooling. The Palletech software then receives a signal when the part is finished. The scheduler locates the next part in line, loads the part program and readies the tooling. The software identifies where a needed tool is currently located, whether in the tool hive or in another machine, and uses the tool transport system to deliver it to the right machine.  When all criteria have been met, including spindle-mounted probing operations for in-process inspection, the process starts again and the cycle continues. “Then that part waits for the next operator to come in on Monday morning, whatever the time,” Sekerak says. “If the machines have finished, the operator places each part back in our finished material or raw material stacker, and then it's on to our CMM, unit assembly or our paint department. And that's a finished part.” Repeat, repeat, repeat. “What we hope to do with this system is unmanned operations,” Rowland says. The likely plan involves running two shifts while the third shift, and the weekends, are unmanned. “When labor is at a premium, it’s pretty powerful stuff when you think about running lights out and guaranteeing yourself that you have good parts coming off the line,” he continues. “So the expectation is that this line is an integrated, automatic system that is talking back and forth with our scheduling side, and being able to produce parts that meet print specifications. Let’s just call it like it is — it is easier to hire a lower-skilled operator than it is to find a senior machinist that has 18 years of experience. They're just not out there. We have to look at that variable and put that in place: How does that machine line help us manufacturer and make good parts by using smart technologies?” Until then, Sekerak, Rowland and their teams continue the transition by test cutting parts. Sekerak points to efficiencies already gained by the Palletech system, including 92% utilization of the machines during unmanned operations. “For machine tools, that's tremendous,” he says. “We expect that utilization if not better off of these machines. It's just a matter of keeping those spindles running.” Large tool hives and heavy tool storage. Tool transport robots. Integrated network connectivity and in-process monitoring. All of these are necessary to achieve the kind of unmanned machining that Mazak’s system was designed to offer. Add to that chip-integrated tools that interface with the SmartBoxes stationed on every machine — another layer of automation that is worth mentioning. When operators command the tool transport system to retrieve tools from the hive or from a machine for maintenance, they bring the tools back to the Zoller preset station. Another operator services each tool one by one then loads it into the presetter. It reads the tool chip, measures the tool and loads the measurement information onto the tool’s chip. The operator is then free to place the tool back into the system. “For tool offsets, there's nobody punching numbers into the machine that could then make a mistake,” Sekerak says. “It's all part of that chip data. The Zoller is providing the numbers that go through the chip onto the machine so there's no confusion.” Taken together, all of this technology and the sizable investment it represents might seem to be out of reach for the smaller, mom-and-pop machine shops that form the bulk of U.S. manufacturing operations. So I asked Kevin Sekerak:  Who is the manufacturer who may not realize that it could benefit from some version of what this system is capable of doing? “If there is one last point that I have to make it would be exactly that: this is a modular, scalable system,” he says. “There are a lot of customers that could be operating at a smaller scale that can use the Palletech with one machine and six pallets. And that may be plenty for a shop to have one single operator and continue running DCMT Insert through the night and still fully utilize that machine. Shops are facing overseas delivery issues right now. It’s just something that the world is going through, whether it’s port congestion or delivery problems with the overseas containers. And guess what? It could be a pandemic throughout the world, that can shut down that supply chain. The Suez Canal. You name it. We're trying to offer a wide spectrum, whether it's entry level machines up to highly advanced technology, but ultimately we're just trying to give our customers solutions. We like bringing customers in here and they can see that we're building the entire machine here in Kentucky. We're bringing in raw material, we're bringing in bearings, we're machining the castings, we are making the sheet metal and painting the sheet metal. tube process inserts We are assembling the materials and running our spindles and building a complete machine here. Our customers are fighting the same problems and asking the same questions about whether it's still profitable to manufacture in America. But we're doing it here, with the machines they can use.” The Cemented Carbide Blog: CNC Carbide Inserts post comment

Programmable, Non Contact Tool Verification [26 Jan 2024|03:18am] Parameters specify settings for every CNC feature and function, and there are hundreds, even thousands, for any CNC. When discussing parameters, I always reiterate the importance of backing them up. As the person using the CNC, you are responsible for doing so. Today’s CNCs make it easy to back up to a flash drive, so there is no excuse not to do so. Plus, having your parameter backup can save hours, if not days, in the case of a CNC failure. Nearly every CNC-related tungsten carbide inserts issue involves a parameter setting. Indeed, if the machine is misbehaving in any way, it is likely that an erroneous parameter setting is to blame. There are certain parameters that every CNC user should know related to safety, efficiency and simplifying machine usage. My examples are for FANUC CNCs, but all CNCs have similar parameter settings. Certain G-code modes are automatically instated when you power-on a machine tool. Absolute or incremental (G90/G91); inch or metric (G20/G21); rapid or linear motion (G00/G01); plane selection XY, XZ or YZ (G17/G18/G19); and feed per minute or feed per revolution (G94/G95), among others, are G-code modes that can can be specified through parameters. Most of these parameters control efficiency. For example, the machining center chip-breaking peck drilling cycle CNC Inserts (G73) has a parameter that controls retract amount between pecks. The larger this value, the more time it will take to machine a hole. In similar fashion, the deep-hole pecking cycle has a parameter that controls the clearance amount between pecks. Also, the turning center multiple repetitive cycle for rough turning and boring (G71) has a parameter that controls how far the tool will retract (still feeding) between roughing passes. A parameter controls whether a value without a decimal point will be taken as a whole number or with fixed format. If set to a whole number, a coordinate value of 10 in the inch mode will be taken as 10 inches. In fixed-format mode, it will be taken as 0.0010 inch. This can affect program compatibility among machines and operator entries when making sizing adjustments. Another parameter sets the maximum size of a wear offset adjustment. Having this parameter set to 0.02 inch, for example, can help minimize operator entry mistakes. Parameters control the methods by which programs can be transferred to and from the CNC as well as the device/media being used. Common choices include a flash drive, memory card, ethernet or serial port. Another parameter determines when the CNC will stop loading programs: at an end of program word (like M30) or the end-of-file delimiter (%). Parameters are available to keep specified programs from being modified, deleted and/or displayed. This lets you protect important programs, such as probing programs, sub-programs and custom macros. Parameters let you specify that a chosen G or M code (like G101 or M87) will execute pre-determined CNC programs. This is important when developing custom macros for canned-cycle applications. Another custom-macro-related parameter lets you control the behavior of single block when executing logic and arithmetic commands: skipping them or executing them one by one. A parameter controls what happens when you switch measurement system modes. With one choice, the CNC simply moves the decimal point to the right or left (no true conversion). A value of 10.0000 inches becomes 100.000 millimeters. With the other, all values, including axis positions and offset settings, are converted. A value of 10.0000 inches becomes 254.000 millimeters. Knowing (or suspecting) that a parameter affects a given issue is just the beginning of correcting the issue. You must be able to find the parameter in question. Most CNC manufacturers document related parameters in a group, but since there are so many of them, it still can be difficult to find the one that is related to your particular issue. While you can get a parameter list and start foraging through them, a better way is to consult the documentation (programming manual, operation manual, etc.) that describes the feature that is troubling you. For the peck-drilling cycle parameters, for instance, reference the G73 and G83 descriptions. You will find descriptions of all related parameters. The most common way to change parameter settings is to do so manually, using the display screen and MDI panel keyboard. But you can program changes for program-related parameters. With the G73 peck drilling retract amount for example, it may be necessary to use a setting of 0.005 inch for one cutting tool in a program and 0.010 inch for another. FANUC CNCs utilize the data setting command (G10) for this purpose. The Cemented Carbide Blog: tungsten carbide Inserts post comment

Toolholders Offer Precise Adjustment [22 Jan 2024|03:09am] Big Kaiser is introducing the R-Cutter CKB Type, a modular round chamfering tool. The tool is an ultra-high feed front and back radius chamfering mill, featuring high rake angles that Carbide Threading Inserts reduce cutting resistance and minimize burr generation. shoulder milling cutters It offers an insert geometry which improves sharpness. The tool is offered in a four-insert design to cut in tight spaces and attain higher feed rates. The connection is equipped with a floating drive pin that engages on both sides into respective pockets in the mating part. The tapers on the pins and the angles on the pockets are engineered to automatically balance the two resulting torsional forces. Additionally, the connection allows for an array of standard shanks and extensions to be adapted with the heads to create “custom” tools to extend over 16", maintaining damping near the cutting edge and managing vibration in long-overhang setups. The Cemented Carbide Blog: carbide welding inserts post comment

Why Use Hydraulic Toolholders [17 Jan 2024|02:03am] Anyone with the resources and the inclination can buy a machine tool. But not everyone can wring out the same amount of production from turning inserts for aluminum the same machine. Multitasking machines loaded with multiple turrets and/or spindles offer a great deal of production potential, as they can often completely machine a part on its own. Granted, these machines are more costly than their straightforward lathe and milling machine brethren. However, it's clear that shops battling just-in-time delivery schedules and shrinking batch sizes recognize the money-making potential of such machines, as their sales increase every year. It's the classic case of biting the bullet and choosing equipment that initially is more expensive, but offers greater payback down the road. But the multitasking machine can't do it alone. The choices made in combining various machining elements and strategies into an efficient process ultimately separate the great shops from the average Joes. CAM programming continues to be a challenge for multitasking machines, which isn't surprising considering it involves simultaneous machining operations and orchestrated movement of a number of machine components. Tooling can also play a make-or-break role. It's logical to think that a multitasking machine designed with flexibility in mind would use tooling that was also flexible. Such tooling would provide the capability to perform a variety of different machining operations with just one tool. A universal spindle interface that can accommodate both turning and milling operations can also augment process versatility. There are a few reasons for this. First, space can be saved—turret space, to be more specific. The multiple turrets and spindles located within a multitasking machine not only limit space within the machining zone, but also place limits on tool magazine capacity. A single tool that offers five different cutting operations, for example, could free up four tool pockets. Those extra pockets could then be used to hold different tools for parts that require many machining operations or sister tooling to allow extended, unattended operation. Second, cycle times can be quicker through the elimination of non-value-adding tool change time. A multitasking tool might just require spindle indexing to bring a different turning insert into position, for example. Third, a universal, modular spindle interface that is effective for milling, turning and drilling operations allows for one common tooling platform for the shop's entire operation. This concept of standardization falls in line with the strategies of lean manufacturing. During a recent visit to its international headquarters in Sandviken, Sweden, Sandvik Coromant (Fair Lawn, New Jersey) demonstrated the value that a multitasking tool platform, such as its Coroplex line, can provide for multitasking machines. The visit included a tour through the production facility for its mining and construction division, which heeds the advice of its sister tooling company by using robot-tended cells that combine multitasking machines with multitasking tools to produce various mining drill bit components (see sidebar on page 77). There are a few different approaches in terms of multitasking tool design. One is the combination of turning and milling inserts on a single tool body. That one tool could perform shoulder milling, turn-milling or circular interpolation, for example, as well as face and longitudinal turning, profiling or internal turning. To combine turning and milling capability on one tool requires a design in which the turning inserts don't contact the workpiece while the tool is milling. To avoid this, the milling inserts are located just ahead of the turning inserts axially and radially so that the turning inserts are not in cut when the tool is milling. Another technique combines two turning inserts located on opposite sides of a tool body. The tool can perform a rough turning operation, then be indexed 180 degrees in the spindle to allow finish turning. Yet another concept uses a modular mini-turret unit that can combine four different cutting modules to allow four turning operations on one tool. This would enable a single tool to rough turn, finish turn, cut a groove and turn a thread, for example. The combination of cutting modules is user-selectable, and it would depend on the type of part and the required machining operations. Maintaining tool center line accuracy is especially important for multitasking machines to make sure that the tool is precisely positioned to perform a turning operation. This is where it is helpful to have a modular, universal spindle/tool interface. Such an interface is effective for multitasking TNGG Insert machines, as their spindle(s) could be called on to mill or lock into position for a turning operation. One of the issues that tooling companies sometimes face when introducing new tool designs is the lag in terms of CAM software support of new tools. Often, though, programming is not made more difficult because of the new tool. To change from a milling operation to a turning operation for tools that can perform both just requires the spindle to precisely index to bring the turning insert is in proper position. There's no programming difference if that tool is used for milling, as the tool essentially is a milling cutter that happens to have turning inserts on board. The Cemented Carbide Blog: parting tool Inserts post comment

Seco Tools' New Insert Series is Capable of Milling Tough Materials [16 Jan 2024|06:42am] Considering the "manufacturability" of a new product before the design is finalized can help avoid costly alterations. This requires communication and cooperation between the product designers and their manufacturing counterparts. With more than 4,500 different products, Pelco (Clovis, California), a video security systems manufacturer, offers flexibility in addressing a range of surveillance requirements. Its products are used in more than 1 million locations globally, in applications such as corporate enterprises, entertainment venues, museums and property management. When developing a new stainless steel product, the company contacted cutting tool supplier Seco-Carboloy (Detroit, Michigan) to join its simultaneous product/process engineering team. In response to the need for increased surveillance around ships, defense installations, power plants and other locations within the marine environment, the company began offering an explosion-proof pan-and-tilt video security system. However, introducing the corrosion-resistant product involved more than switching from aluminum to stainless steel material; it required a blank-sheet approach to product and process development. "Our product engineers had a conceptual idea of how to introduce the stainless steel product," explains Lolo Garza, machine shop manager at Pelco. "For the power module of the unit, the design engineers envisioned a weldment comprised of three individually machined pieces." "After analyzing the weldment drawings and existing data while the product was still in the design phase," says Daryl Serna, Seco-Carboloy senior technical specialist, "we concluded that machining the component from one large stainless steel billet would be more cost-efficient. We accurately projected the machining data based on the experience Seco-Carboloy had with metal removal rates of the TP3000 inserts, which eliminated the need to make a prototype to validate the decision to machine from the large billet." "Working from a 316L alloy billet about 6 inches to 7 inches in diameter, we bore out the billet, machining it down to an 1/8-inch wall (basically making a tube out of it)," continues Mr. Garza. "The operations include drilling, boring, OD rough turning, finish turning, trepanning, grooving and a large amount of precision threading, and each thread has to be a G3 class fit." Seco-Carboloy suggested its SD indexable drills with T300D coated inserts, the toughest of its universal grades, to rapidly plunge the initial hole on the ID to open up the part for heavy stock removal with a boring bar. For the roughing operation, which hogs out a large amount of stainless material, Mr. Serna recommended boring bars with the TP3000 grade, featuring a substrate and wear-resistant multi-layered coating. TP400 was also used for OD TCMT Insert finishing. Pelco now realizes that it made the appropriate processing decision. Machining the weldment caused the company to incur a considerable amount of extra time on the three setups. The total cycle time per module was 12 minutes. However, drilling and rough-boring the entire inside of the billet required 3 minutes. The rough boring operation using the TP3000 with an M5 chipbreaker is performed at a speed of 550 sfpm, with a feed rate of 0.012 ipr and a 0.125-inch depth of cut. For the finishing operation, the TP400, with a 0.015-inch depth of cut and a cutting speed of 650 sfpm, is used. A feed rate of 0.008 ipr is achieved when using the MF3 chipbreaker, and 0.004 ipr is achieved with an F1 chipbreaker. Tool life ranges from 20 to 30 minutes per insert. Because the company's explosion-proof surveillance systems carry UL and CE certification, specifications Carbide Inserts and tolerances are necessary to maintain the licenses. On a regular basis, Pelco must calibrate and document its processes, including the tools that are used. In one instance, the company's engineers produced a bearing assembly component that involved press fitting two dynamic seal O-ring bearings onto the part. The design engineers explored the possibility of pressing the part and sending it to a CNC grinding facility to grind the ID to hold the tolerance, particularly the 16 finish that was required for the dynamic seal portion. With assistance from Seco-Carboloy, the group found a processing solution that would keep the work in-house. A pilot run was carried out using a Seco-Carboloy insert, running with a 0.0002-inch tolerance from start to finish. This produced a surface finish of 8.8 and required no outside grinding. For Pelco, working with Seco-Carboloy is more than just acquiring proper tooling for a particular operation. "It's about selecting a single-source committed carbide manufacturer and partnering for continuous improvement," says Mr. Garza. The Cemented Carbide Blog: TNGG Insert post comment

Multitasking Tools Cut More Than Grooves [08 Jan 2024|08:21am] Lyndex-Nikken’s shrink fit toolholders are designed for optimum accuracy, rigidity and balance. The solid construction minimizes unbalance variations when changing cutting tools, the company says. Used RCGT Insert in combination with a shrink fit unit, the toolholders rapidly heat up to expand the inside diameter of the holder. As the holder cools, thermal contraction exerts a uniform pressure that shrinks the diameter around the tool for uniform gripping. Cemented Carbide Inserts This process not only ensures accuracy, the company says, but it also allows for tool changes of less than 30 seconds. The separate shrink fit unit employs a direct, liquid-cooling method that quickly and safely cools tools, the company says. The symmetrical, shrink fit holders are pre-balanced (to G2.5 at 40,000 rpm on all HSK32E/40E holders, to G2.5 at 20,000 rpm on all #40 taper/HSK63 holders and to G2.5 at 15,000 rpm on all #50 taper/HSK100 holders). According to the company, most of these holders can be balanced with the use of an optional balancing kit. The complete line is offered in both inch and metric sizes. The Cemented Carbide Blog: cast iron Inserts post comment

The New Rules of Cutting Tools ？_2 [03 Jan 2024|09:28am] Hypertherm has released version 11.1 of its ProNest 2015 CAD/CAM software featuring a quoting tool that can calculate per-part and total job costs, among other updates. This tool is ideal for job shops, metal service centers and other fabricators who need to quote work to external customers. In addition to using Carbide Turning Inserts baseline material and production costs, the tool is capable of including secondary operations as well as markups or discounts for certain customers and jobs in the final cost calculation. This version also includes enhancements supporting waterjet cutting, such as the ability to apply four waterjet pierce types (dynamic, circle, wiggle and stationary) automatically through the use of embedded process parameters. The software applies the VNMG Insert right pierce type and duration based on lead length, material type and thickness, and the available space around the pierce site, all without the need for programmer input. A “quality colors” feature enables programmers to color-code parts based on quality values while in 2D CAD mode or while using ProNest’s Advanced Edit feature. Other enhancements include interior cut-up for laser cutting, improved SolidWorks assembly import, cut process class selection, and material mapping by grade and type. The Cemented Carbide Blog: cemented carbide wear pads post comment

Platinum Tooling Becomes American Distributor for Rineck [27 Dec 2023|01:33am] Although Horn initially built its reputation on grooving and part-off technology, pigeonholing the tooling manufacturer as a specialist in those areas alone would be a huge disservice to the company and any potential customers. Moreover, a broader product line isn’t the only factor in Horn’s becoming a bigger contender during the past few decades. The company itself has grown steadily as well, a trend that management expects to continue throughout 2013 and beyond.  These were two major takeaways from “Technology Days,” a biennial event at the company’s headquarters in picturesque Tubingen, Germany. Along with more than 2,000 customers and dealers from around the world—a reportedly larger crowd than in previous years—press members including me and Chris Koepfer, editor-and-chief of MMS sister publication Production Machining, enjoyed a busy three days of demonstrations, tours and technical presentations. Although Horn’s grooving expertise was evident from the get-go, demos and placards also showcased products that ran the gamut from milling and turning to broaching, reaming and thread-whirling. tube process inserts Notably, not all of these offerings were selections from the company’s 20,000-strong line of standard tools. Many were custom-designed models—which represent more than 50 percent of the company’s total annual turnover. The merits of custom tooling was also the topic of a particularly interesting technical presentation, while others focused on high-feed-rate machining, cutting with ultra-hard diamond and CBN materials, and performing broaching on CNC machines. (Watch for in-depth coverage of these topics in upcoming issues of both MMS and PM.) In the United States, standard and custom tools alike are manufactured at Horn USA’s facility in Franklin, Tennessee. The U.S. market’s strength and growth potential has spurred plans to more than double the size of that facility beginning this year.&slot milling cutters nbsp; The overall company is growing, too. With annual turnover expected to rise by € 5 million this year over the € 220 million reported in 2012, the company is constructing a new building at the Tubingen campus for additional capacity. That project is slated for completion in 2015. These expansions follow close on the heels of the 2012 completion of another new facility in Tubingen: a 16,000-square-meter factory for Horn Hartstoffe, the company’s carbide manufacturing operation. Here, powdered carbide mixes are shaped into “green” inserts via three different processes: axial pressing, and, perhaps more notably, extrusion and injection molding. This aspect of Horn’s manufacturing process, as well as the custom machines it uses to grind inserts after sintering, were among the most fascinating aspects of my trip. Click here for a brief virtual tour.   The Cemented Carbide Blog: Carbide Inserts - Cutting Tools post comment

Gear Manufacturer Gains Efficiency With Tool Management System [25 Dec 2023|08:01am] Why are cutting tools coated? Most would say it is to protect the tool. That answer is true as far as it goes, but the function of the coating is more varied and more specific than that. In this video, I get to talk about coatings with Julius Schoop, Ph.D., machining expert with the Cincinnati-based manufacturing consulting firm TechSolve. (Actually, he is now formerly with TechSolve—he accepted a university slot milling cutters professor position while this video was in production.) In particular, Dr. Schoop and I focus on the difference between physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) bar peeling inserts coatings. PVD is a line-of-sight process allowing for a thinner coating and therefore a sharper edge. CVD produces a thicker coating more effective as a thermal barrier. The machining footage in this video shows the difference as we experiment with different coatings in both roughing and finishing passes in 4140 steel. Choosing the right coating for the cut can have a dramatic effect on the performance of the process. The Cemented Carbide Blog: central and intermediate Inserts post comment

Software Add On Creates Head Porting Toolpaths [21 Dec 2023|08:34am] Maybe you don’t think much about it when a machine is new. But over time, a machining center is going to require more than routine maintenance. Sooner or later mechanical components are going to wear, alter machine performance and may even lead to catastrophic failure. The questions to ask now are: When is that most likely to happen? How disruptive will unplanned maintenance be to your production schedule? And how much will it cost you in substantial repairs and lost production? What if a machining center could monitor itself and predict impending problems before they occur? Now that could cut out preventable production interruptions and enable shops to perform maintenance at the most convenient times. Much has been made of the potential of IIoT technology to address “predictive maintenance” and a host of other issues sometime in the future. But what can the industrial internet of things or Industry 4.0 do for manufacturers right now? Makino has a very practical answer for that with its MHmax machine health monitoring system. By applying sensors and proprietary predictive analysis algorithms that constantly check the health of a machining center’s spindle, toolchanger, coolant and hydraulic systems, machine-resident software can detect when critical systems are trending toward the need for repair. This isn’t technology coming somewhere down the road. It’s available on selected Makino 1-series horizontal machining centers today. Manufacturers have been using sensors to measure data points like sound, heat and vibration on machine tools for years, but making the best use of the data has not been easy. External monitoring systems had the ability to compare sensor data to a known set of baseline conditions but still required continued technical development to be effective. What’s different with MHmax, which stands for Makino Health Maximizer, is that a fully functional monitoring and analysis system resides entirely in the machine control. Sophisticated machine learning software paired with a sensor array works from day one and adapts to shoulder milling cutters machine characteristics as it monitors performance over time. This is what enables the system to predict component failures before they happen. With a constant stream of sensor data to analyze, the system “learns” which machine characteristics are normal and which are not. And it can determine early on when machine characteristics are beginning to trend toward a non-conforming condition. An interesting aspect of MHmax is how it originated. You can try to monitor virtually any component on a machine tool, but going overboard adds needless complexity and costs that may not really add value. Makino wanted to develop a cost-effective predictive solution that solves the most common real-world problems. So they began by analyzing their own service dispatch records to determine systems posed the highest probability of slot milling cutters causing unplanned downtime should they fail. According to Makino’s Dan Wissemeier, IoT customer support engineer, “It’s not necessary, for example, to measure ballscrews. They are so reliable that it wouldn’t be cost effective.” On the other hand, “A production machining center can have two million tool changes per year. Sooner or later, that’s going to need maintenance,” he says. In all, the MHmax system includes multiple embedded sensors collecting data at the most critical points in a machine. Using this data the predictive software checks for spindle health, analyzes controller data and calculates the needs for alerts or warnings on critical machine functions. It checks spindle vibration, load and speed; automatic toolchanger alignment; coolant flow and temperature; and the hydraulic system pressure and temperature. A 24/7 alert system pushes notifications via email or text to designated recipients. In addition to the predictive maintenance aspects of MHmax, it also provides a real-time portrait of a machine’s status, which can be enormously helpful in optimizing processes, improving equipment utilization and enabling more worry-free hours of unattended or lightly tended machining. Monitoring data can be viewed on Makino’s Pro 6 HMI display, or remotely via a network connection, depending on the user’s preferred level of system connectivity. Daily, weekly and monthly uptime and predictive reports are available, and frequencies are selectable. Most IIoT systems today rely on uploading sensor data to cloud-based application. Data is frequently pooled with other users allowing the vendor to mine data in ways that are not necessarily shared with the customer. MHmax is distinctly different from this approach because most of the data processing and analysis happen right at the machine tool and are shared in a way in which the user has total control. There are three levels of system connectivity: In Level 1, the entire application runs in a standalone mode and is viewable only on the machine Pro6 control screen. With Level 2, multiple machines can be connected to a company network. A common dashboard displays all connected machines and can be accessed by desktop computer or mobile devices. Level 3 provides a direct link to Makino’s service management system. While the data remains secure inside the shop’s network, individual machine alerts are pushed out so Makino can keep a machine history for the customer. With this level of support, highly trained service technicians can contact customers in a proactive fashion. Initially, Makino is offering MHmax as an option on selected horizontal machining centers and has future plans to apply it on all production-oriented equipment. Also, a retrofittable kit is in the works. The software is continually in development and moving toward “prescriptive maintenance” where the system identifies possible causes of non-conforming conditions. What’s the value of having predictive maintenance on your next production machining center? For a moment, don’t look forward but instead, look back. What has your service history been, and what did unplanned equipment failures impact? What did they cost, not just the repairs, but the lost production? That may not be top of the mind for the machine you are buying today, but it will be. It’s just a matter of time. Go here for more information on Makino’s MHmax. The Cemented Carbide Blog: tungsten derby weights post comment

Tool Production Center Runs “Lights Out” [19 Dec 2023|05:50am] “We call it constant-chip-load machining,” Charles Anthony says, referring to one of the CNC programming techniques that ADEX Machining LLC fully embraced after making it a focus of the shop’s in-house R&D program. Mr. Anthony, who is the director of engineering and operations at this 30-person shop in Greenville, South Carolina, has been promoting this concept of “job shop R&D” for several years, because he believes it gives ADEX a jump on new technology. He has seen this program (unusual for a small machining company) lead to a number of processes or capabilities that might not have been introduced there in time to get ahead of the curve on leading technology trends. He singles out constant-chip-load machining as a prime example of R&D, because he is sure its benefits would not have been as substantial or pervasive without the R&D program to give it a boost. In the case of constant-chip-load machining, ADEX had to delve deeply into the performance characteristics of its preferred cutting tools as well as get acquainted with the kinematics of the multi-axis CNC machining centers and vertical turning lathe on its shop floor.  What Mr. Anthony calls constant-chip-load machining is one of the most important principles that underlies the Dynamic Motion option for generating tool paths in CNC Software’s Mastercam CAD/CAM software. Because ADEX has taken the time and effort to thoroughly master how to apply this option for best effect when programming complex parts in titanium and other super alloys, it has provided significant improvements in productivity and tool life across a range of workpiece types involving almost every machine tool in the shop. “A better understanding of the cutting tools we use and how our machine tools behave helped us get more out of this approach to generating tool paths,” Mr. Anthony says. This knowledge was essential to determining the precise chip-load values that the Dynamic Motion option needs as input to create the rather unusual tool paths that deliver what Mr. Anthony has found to be very productive results. To be clear, Dynamic Motion applies many other rules to toolpath generation in addition to maintaining a constant chip load, but following this principle is probably its greatest departure from traditional approaches, including those based on constant cutter engagement. “Mastering the concept of constant-chip-load machining was the key to unlocking its full potential at ADEX,” Mr. Anthony explains. “We routinely see tool life last two times longer and sometimes as much as five times longer, and we know our tool paths will protect the tool and part from damaging conditions experienced with other conventional types of tool paths,” he says. Of even greater benefit are substantial reductions in cycle times. “We usually get 20- to 40-percent higher metal-removal rates, especially during roughing, because the tool paths use the full potential of a cutting tool very efficiently,” he adds. Plus, good tool paths have helped ADEX successfully machine complex workpieces to tight tolerances in difficult-to-machine materials, because consistent, precise results in roughing using this programming option virtually ensure error-free finishing operations (which may also benefit from using this programming option.) Of course, ADEX’s R&D program has not been restricted to making the most of techniques such as constant-chip-load machining. Establishing a practical approach to automatic and reliable on-machine probing for lights-out operation is another example. “All of these R&D efforts hinge on the same principles. We seek out new ideas, learn as much as we can, develop creative ways to apply them, and try to discover new and different directions that go beyond what other shops are likely to do. This is the only way to stay ahead of the pack,” Mr. Anthony concludes. An R&D Background ADEX’s venturesome entrepreneurial spirit can be traced to its startup in 2007 as a shop specializing in five-axis machining. The founders, who have since moved on to other ventures, wanted to make the leap to advanced machining in a single bound. When Mr. Anthony joined the company in 2012, he brought with him almost 25 years of experience in CNC machining (including 10 years in five-axis machining), plus a background in process engineering and operations management. He was familiar with the other manufacturing technology in place at ADEX, which includes vertical turning, wire EDM, CAD/CAM and a computerized coordinate measuring machine. Mr. Anthony’s prior experience also involved a solid grasp of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma process improvement. This combination of practical experience and theoretical knowledge helped Mr. Anthony give ADEX a firmer footing on its path to steady growth as a business, along with more certain achievement of its ambitious goals for technical excellence. Under his leadership, however, the mission of the company remains the same, that is, to apply advanced manufacturing technology to the 24/7 production of complex aerospace, defense and energy components consisting of superalloys such as Inconel, titanium, and other high-nickel or cobalt-based materials. “Because we approach every job with the standards and discipline expected of aerospace work, we’re perfectly comfortable being called an aerospace company, although about 35 percent of our revenue comes from outside this industry. Our biggest customer does build airplanes, however,” he says. One of the things Mr. Anthony learned from an earlier stint with a large aerospace firm in his home state of Georgia was the importance of exploring new technology and giving it a try—not when this technology had become safe, easy and was in everybody’s shop, but while it was still taking shape, proving itself and finding direction. Although this former employer had the resources to engage in an R&D program on a large scale, Mr. Anthony recognized that the concept could be pursued in a company the size of ADEX as well. It did not have to be a formal program with a rigid time frame, but could follow a freer approach based on an ongoing commitment to devoting as much available time as possible to a specific goal or targeted benefit. One of the first opportunities to take this approach arose when ADEX was introduced to the Dynamic Motion option in Mastercam by a programmer who joined the staff a few years ago. He had used this software feature to program the roughing operations for an aircraft bulkhead, thus bringing the cycle time down from 30 hours to 13. This report certainly got the attention of Mr. Anthony and his small group of programmers. Especially encouraging was news that the thin floor and thin walls of this bulkhead did not undergo any of the warping that can occur when machining forces create stress or heat from aggressive metal-removal processes. Although ADEX had long been a user of Mastercam, the Dynamic Motion option had been neglected. Now the shop wanted to take a much closer look. Shortly thereafter, a few demonstrations on test workpieces created some distinct impressions. Dynamic Motion tool paths did not look like any tool paths the shop had used before. The cutting tool seemed to be swirling in and out of contact with the workpiece in moves that appeared to be inefficient and almost erratic. The stepovers and stepdowns called out values that departed from usual practice in roughing. The stepovers were usually well below the radius of the tool. Stepdowns were allowed to be the full length of the cutting flute on a carbide milling cutter—another reason to raise eyebrows. In addition, feed rates and spindle speeds calculated by the software were startlingly high. “We were almost afraid to take these programs out to the shop floor at first,” Mr. Anthony recalls. However, the test cuts consistently showed very positive results. In fact, the results were so promising that Mr. Anthony made a commitment to finding out as much as he could about this option and how it could be applied to the most challenging workpieces for which ADEX customers were requesting bids. This R&D effort would stretch over the next two years. “We were never not working on the application of this toolpath strategy. It became a habit to look at what applying this option would give us whenever roughing operations were a deciding factor in how to process a part,” Mr. Anthony says. Constant Chip Load Is the Key “Early on, we learned that Dynamic Motion was designed to create tool paths that resulted in parameters assuring a constant chip load on the cutter. The chip load that it keeps constant, however, is a value that tends to favor high feed rates and small stepovers, but maximizes metal removal. The idea is to take light cuts very rapidly under conditions that are best for the particular cutting tool and machine tool,” Mr. Anthony explains. He adds that there is a lot more to what Dynamic Motion does when generating a tool path, but constant chip load is a basic principle underlying its algorithms. It also became clear that entering the correct values for the variables with which this software needed to work could not be based on guesswork. “That’s when the R&D project started to really look like R&D. We set out to develop our own calculator to generate those values, based on tables of results gathered from test cuts on each machine, using different materials and different styles of cutters,” he says. The focus of this research centered on determining what chip load was the most productive yet safest for each combination of cutting tool and machining center. Generating the tool paths and corresponding depths of cut and feed rates to maintain that target chip load was taken care of by the software. Following is a summary of the theory behind what Mr. Anthony was up to in this research. When a round, fluted cutter rotating at a certain speed contacts the workpiece, the sharp edges of the flutes form chips as the material is cut away. The size of these chips depends on how much of the cutter is in contact with the workpiece. The thickest chip formed is at 50-percent stepover—the radius of the cutter. When stepover is smaller than 50 percent, the chip formed will be thinner than what it would be at 50-percent stepover. As the degree of contact gets smaller and smaller, the resulting chips will be thinner and thinner in proportion. This effect is known as radial chip thinning. Of course, making thick chips removes more material than making thin chips at the same rate. However, there are many reasons why making thick chips may be less desirable than making thin chips. For example, the cutting tool may not have the strength, sharpness and other characteristics to cut at its full radius. In that case, thinner chips will have to do. Another important fact is that the metal-cutting/chip-making process always creates heat. Most of this heat is localized in the chip itself, but the workpiece and the cutting tool may absorb some of it. Thicker chips can carry off more heat than thinner chips simply because thicker chips have more mass to hold the heat. When thinner chips are being produced, producing them faster by increasing the rotational speed of the cutter and/or the forward motion (feed rate) of the cutter in the direction of the cut can prevent heat from being transferred to the workpiece or cutter. This prevents them from reaching a damaging temperature. Naturally, spindle speed and feed rate are limited by the capability of the machine; faster spindles and more powerful axis drives can do a better job of producing thin chips rapidly, thus compensating for both lower metal-removal capacity and the lower heat-removal capacity of the chip. Then there is the hardness and other properties of the workpiece material to consider. Spindle speed, feed rates, depth of cut (stepover) and all of the other machining parameters have to be adjusted accordingly. Finding the right numbers for calculating the best machine settings became the goal for ADEX’s constant-chip-load research project. A Calculated Success Eventually, Mr. Anthony and his team developed a calculator by which programmers can compute the best values for chip load and the other variables required for input when using the Dynamic Motion option. He considers this calculator a proprietary development for ADEX—a kind of trade secret—although he readily concedes that the recent releases of Mastercam have made it easier for other shops to plug in very workable Dynamic Motion values based on their own homework. “We’ve just taken this homework to a higher level so that our calculator gives us a big head start in applying constant-chip-load machining very effectively,” Mr. Anthony says. “We can use the calculator to check different input values to see which combination gives us the most productive chip-load value.” He considers Dynamic Motion a tool to leverage the cutter technology that is out there today. For this reason, the shop is always looking for new products from cutting tool developers, as well as continuing to learn more about the performance of the machines in the shop. Mr. Anthony summarizes some of the other findings or observations that have come out of this intense research on Dynamic Motion: The Most Productive Tool that Doesn’t Cut Chips The impetus to forge ahead with in-process gaging emerged several years ago when ADEX launched a comprehensive time-study analysis of its manufacturing processes. One of the results was particularly startling. The shop was consistently losing 15 to 50 percent of available production time because machines were paused in the M01 (optional stop) condition. “ADEX makes both large and medium-sized close-tolerance parts, ranging in value from $5,000 to $150,000. Our CNC programmers insert M01 codes into their programs, instructing and requiring machinists to inspect the part and cutting tool to ensure everything is OK and that we are not drifting into conditions that could result in scrap,” Mr. Anthony explains. These optional stops were costly. Because machinists usually tend more than one machine at a time, dealing with a machine in the M01 mode may not happen promptly. Likewise, resolving the issue behind the stoppage can mean a lengthy delay. Checking a workpiece dimension or the condition of a cutting tool may involve several steps requiring cautious judgment about a decision to recut or not, or move the part to the CMM for inspection, and then setting it back up on the machine. “This approach can be a big problem when you are dealing with a 0.0001-inch tolerance,” Mr. Anthony points out. “These manual interventions, in addition to being very time-consuming, open the door for human error that can inadvertently introduce the very process imperfections that the optional stop was intended to prevent,” he concludes. The solution ADEX first envisioned was to use the spindle probes on its five-axis machines to measure parts at specified points during machining to verify that dimensions are not drifting out of specification and to adjust tool offsets to compensate without interrupting the manufacturing process. However, the shop found this approach impractical at first. It required the CNC programmer to be well-versed in metrology or to work with a measurement system programmer to develop in-process gaging routines. In 2014, when CNC Software introduced the Productivity Plus add-on for Mastercam, ADEX acquired it right away and began experimenting with it. This add-on enables the CAM programmer to create and call up Renishaw probing macros within the Mastercam programming session. At first, the initial release of the add-on proved somewhat difficult to apply on ADEX’s complex machining centers. Subsequent releases of the programming software and the add-on resolved these snags, however. The shop soon established a goal of implementing it on all of its Mazak five-axis machining centers for complex machining operations, as well as on its tungsten carbide inserts three-axis mills and large VTL. At this point, ADEX embarked on a one-year R&D project to apply this technology across the aerospace, defense and energy facets of the business. “We envisioned the potentially enormous benefits of in-process gaging and made it a priority. We also enlisted our Mastercam reseller, Barefoot CNC, as a partner in this project,” Mr. Anthony says. The reseller co-developed and installed a postprocessor for the add-on while soliciting substantial programming and testing support from Mastercam’s Manufacturing Lab in Tolland, Connecticut. The reseller also trained the CNC programmers and machinists in appropriate use of the add-on and postprocessor. In October 2015, the five-axis machining programs with in-process gaging were proven to the overwhelming satisfaction of customers gun drilling inserts gun drilling inserts on three of the five-axis Mazak machines, Mr. Anthony reports. “In one particular case, 75 percent of process downtime has been eliminated by automating in-process gaging,” he says. He estimates there will be a 25- to 40-percent improvement in productivity, as well as 100-percent product acceptance as in-process gaging is implemented on many of the component details and assemblies running across all of the shop’s machine tools. A Growth Path for All Mr. Anthony believes it is a mistake that many shops do not allow their engineers and machinists enough time to do what he calls research and development. “Owners and managers want to cut parts and ship them right now. Their philosophy insists that we don’t have time for R&D or that we will do it later,” he says. In rebuttal, he points to ADEX’s experiences with constant-chip-load machining and in-process gaging as examples of how important an in-house R&D program can be. “We give our engineers and machinists the time to experiment, dream and brainstorm in order to make the impossible become possible. Some of those things are helping us carve huge productivity gains out of our manufacturing operations,” he says. The company benefits, for sure, but so do shop employees, because they develop new skills, work more closely as a team and increase their earning power, he says. Finally, Mr. Anthony likes to hint about some insights and discoveries resulting from ADEX’s R&D programs that he now considers essential secrets to the shop’s success. But his invitation to other shops is to follow ADEX’s lead on a similar path to make their own discoveries and develop their own competitive advantages: “We’ve found ours and have more to come. Be inspired to go out and find yours.” The Cemented Carbide Blog: bta drilling tool post comment

Rego Fix's PG Cryo Applies Cryogenic Cooling to PowrGrip Toolholder [14 Dec 2023|08:38am] Users gravity turning inserts can now cut, copy and paste balloons and characteristics, and drag-and-drop reordering of characteristics in the table manager eases make revisions and changes. A GD&T builder tool provides more options for working with geometric tolerances in inspection reports. Additional sub types and units, such as torque, temperature, voltage, electrical capacitance, and others, are available for more comprehensive reports. Grids can be customized across multiple pages using grid setup options and interface. A hide captures feature hides surface milling cutters captured dimensions to show what might have been missed, the company says. OCR capabilities have been added to the bill of materials and specifications tabs.  The Cemented Carbide Blog: DCMT Insert post comment

VMC for Cutting Large, Complex Parts [12 Dec 2023|03:23am] MAG’s CYCLO CUT cutting tools include a complete line of indexable cutting tools for the automotive, cemented carbide inserts aerospace, agriculture, wind and general machining industries. We offer an extensive line of end mills and face mills including integral shanks for CAT 50, HSK63A and HSK100A. Ideal for machining centers and special purpose machines, our CAST IRON 55 degree face mills range from 3.00” to 20.00” in diameter. CYCLO CUT’s 6.00” diameter face mills with 21 teeth will semi-finish at 107 IPM and 630 RPM. MAG also offers a complete line of standard and high performance solid carbide end mills and drills with over 3,000 different sizes and lengths in stock for immediate delivery. Our rotary tooling portfolio includes HSS cobalt and powdered metal end mills capable of up to 8 hours tool life roughing titanium and other high temperature alloys. We also have a large selection of PVD coated tooling for composite machining, and a tool holder gravity turning inserts portfolio including CAT 40, CAT 50, HSK 63A, HSK 100A, HSK 125A, BT40 and BT50. Cutting tools best perform in combination with CYCLO COOL metalworking fluids proven to increase tool life by 200% over the competition. CYCLO COOL includes a complete line of coolants, corrosion inhibitors and cleaners for all the manufacturing industry. To receive CYCLO CUT and CYCLO COOL product catalogs or for more information please contact Will Gruber at 859.534.4597, Will.Gruber@mag-ias.com, or Roger Romas at 859.534.4574, Roger.Romas@mag-ias.com, or email a request for quote to info-psus@mag-ias.com The Cemented Carbide Blog: http://philipjere.mee.nu/ post comment

Finding the Next Better Cutting Tool [08 Dec 2023|08:19am] Most machinists are familiar with?the four processing methods, but did you know the concrete differences between them? When the correct selection of them is done, A?fast and highly accurate operation for your project will advantageously conduce to your productivity and precision of work. ? Laser cutting Laser cutting is to use a focused high power density laser beam to irradiate the workpiece so that the irradiated material can melt, vaporize, ablate or reach the ignition point rapidly. At the same time, the melted material can be blown away by high-speed airflow in the coaxial direction of the laser beam, so that the workpiece can be cut off. At present, the CO2 pulse laser is commonly used. Laser cutting is one of the hot cutting methods. Water Cutting bar peeling inserts Processing Water cutting, also known as water knife, is a high-pressure water jet cutting technology, is high-pressure water cutting machine. Under the control of the computer, the workpiece can be carved arbitrarily, and it is less affected by the material quality. Water cutting can be divided into sand-free cutting and sand-adding cutting.   Plasma cutting Plasma arc cutting is a kind of processing method which uses the heat of high-temperature plasma arc to melt (and evaporate) the metal at the cutting edge of the workpiece and removes the molten metal by the momentum of high-speed plasma to form the cutting edge.   WEDM Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) belongs to the field of electrical processing. Wire cut Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is sometimes fast feed milling inserts called WEDM. WEDM can be divided into fast WEDM, medium WEDM, and slow WEDM. The wire traveling speed of fast wire EDM is 6-12 m/s, and the wire travels at high speed, so the cutting accuracy is poor. Mid-wire WEDM is a new technology developed in recent years, which realizes the function of frequency conversion multiple cutting on the basis of fast-wire WEDM. The wire traveling speed of WEDM with slow walking wire is 0.2m/s, and the electrode wire moves unidirectionally at low speed, so the cutting precision is very high. The contrast of application scope Laser cutting machine has a wide range of applications, regardless of metal, non-metal, can be cut, cutting non-metal, such as cloth, leather, etc. can be used CO2 laser cutting machine, cutting metal can be used optical fiber laser cutting machine. The deformation of sheet metal is small. Water cutting belongs to cold cutting, no thermal deformation, good cutting surface quality, without secondary processing, if necessary, it is also easy to carry out secondary processing. Water cutting can punch and cut any material with fast cutting speed and flexible processing size. The plasma cutting machine can be used to cut stainless steel, aluminum, copper, cast iron, carbon steel, and other metal materials. The plasma cutting has an obvious thermal effect and low precision, so the cutting surface is not easy to be processed again. WEDM can only cut conductive substances. Cutting process requires cutting coolant, so it is impossible to cut materials that are not conducive to paper, leather, water, and pollution of cutting coolant. Cutting thickness comparison The application of laser cutting carbon steel in the industry is generally below 20MM. Cutting capacity is generally less than 40MM. Stainless steel industry applications are generally below 16MM, cutting capacity is generally below 25MM. And with the increase of workpiece thickness, the cutting speed decreases obviously. The thickness of water cutting can be very thick, 0.8-100MM, or even thicker material. The plasma cutting thickness is 0-120 mm, and the best cutting quality range thickness is about 20 mm. The price ratio of plasma system is the highest. Wire-cut thickness is generally 40-60 mm, the thickest can be up to 600 mm. Cutting speed comparison The cutting speed of 2 mm thick low carbon steel plate and 5 mm thick polypropylene resin plate can reach 600 cm/min and 1200 cm/min respectively. The cutting efficiency of WEDM is generally 20-60 square millimeters per minute, and the maximum is 300 square millimeters per minute. Obviously, the laser cutting speed is fast and can be used in mass production. Water cutting speed is quite slow, not suitable for mass production. The cutting speed of plasma cutting is slow and the relative precision is low. It is more suitable for cutting thick plates, but the end face has a slope. For metal processing, WEDM has higher accuracy, but the speed is very slow. Sometimes it needs other methods to cut through holes and wires, and the cutting size is limited. Comparison of Cutting Accuracy Laser cutting has a narrow cutting edge, parallel cutting edges, and perpendicular to the surface. The dimension accuracy of the cutting parts can reach (+0.2mm). The plasma energy is less than 1 mm. Water cutting will not produce thermal deformation, the accuracy is (+0.1mm). If the dynamic water cutting machine is used, the cutting accuracy can be increased to (+0.02mm) and the cutting slope can be eliminated. The machining accuracy of WEDM is generally (+) 0.01 (+) 0.02 mm) with a maximum of (+) 0.004 mm. The contrast of slit width Laser cutting is more precise than plasma cutting, with a small slit, about 0.5 mm. The plasma cutting slit is larger than laser cutting, about 1-2 mm. The cutting seam of water cutting is about 10% larger than the diameter of the cutter tube, which is generally 0.8mm-1.2mm. With the diameter enlargement of the sand cutter tube, the larger the incision is. The slit width of WEDM is the smallest, generally about 0.1-0.2 mm. The contrast of Cutting Surface Quality The surface roughness of laser cutting is not as good as that of water cutting. The thicker the material, the more obvious it is. Water cutting will not change the texture of the material around the cutting seam (laser is thermal cutting, it will change the texture around the cutting area). The contrast of Production Input Cost Laser cutting machines for different purposes have different prices. Cheap ones such as carbon dioxide laser cutting machines only need 230,000 yuan, and expensive ones such as 1000W fiber laser cutting machines now need more than 1 million yuan. Laser cutting has no consumables, but the cost of equipment investment is the highest in all cutting methods and is not a little higher, the use and maintenance costs are also quite high. The plasma cutting machine is much cheaper than the laser cutting machine. According to the power and brand of the plasma cutting machine, the price is different and the cost is high. Basically, as long as the conductive material can be cut. The cost of water cutting equipment is second only to laser cutting, which has high energy consumption, high maintenance cost and no plasma cutting speed. Because all abrasives are disposable, they are discharged into nature once, so environmental pollution is serious. WEDM is usually about tens of thousands of pieces. But WEDM has consumables, molybdenum wire, cutting coolant, etc. There are two kinds of wire commonly used in WEDM. One is a molybdenum wire, which is used in fast wire-moving equipment. The advantage is that molybdenum wire can be reused many times. The disadvantage is that it is expensive. The other is to use copper wire for slow-moving wire equipment. The advantage is cheap, but the disadvantage is that copper wire can only be used once. In addition, the fast wire walking machine is much cheaper than the slow wire walking machine. The price of one slow wire walking machine is equal to 5 or 6 fast wire walking machines. The Cemented Carbide Blog: high feed milling Insert post comment

A Lucid Guide for Choosing CNC Lathe Collect [07 Dec 2023|08:36am] Kalamazoo Machine Tool’s Model H275 manual band saw is said to accurately cut tubes, pipes, light structural shapes and small solids Carbide Milling Inserts ranging to 10" at 90 degrees. The variable-speed blade ranges from 65 to 320 fpm, and can accurately miter as much as 60 degrees to the right. The saw’s heavy-duty construction, carbide saw guides and rigid guide supports ensure accurate, straight cuts, the company says. The Model H275 band saw features a 2-hp TEFC motor coupled directly to the worm gear drive for smooth power transmission to the saw blade. Operations include manual saw frame raise, manual vise and hydraulic/solenoid-powered downfeed. Status indicators include "power on," "correct blade tension," "broken blade" and "band wheel cover open." The band saw also features 24-V controls, a bimetal blade with shutoff for broken blade or low tension conditions, a blade drive load monitor and a full coolant system.tube process inserts The Cemented Carbide Blog: https://rockdrillbits.hatenablog.com/ post comment

Heat Resistant Insert Grade Improves Tool Life [05 Dec 2023|01:36am] In 2017 and 2018, the World Machine Tool Survey from Gardner Intelligence, the research arm of Modern Machine Shop publisher Gardner Business Media, showed that 12 out of the top 15 machine tool consuming countries increased their consumption. It is relatively rare for this to happen in a single year, and this was the only time it had ever happened in back-to-back years. This worldwide upturn and the extremely cyclical nature of the machine tool market should have been a clue to the fate of machine tool consumption in 2019, which was a worldwide downturn. According to the latest survey, the results of which have recently been published, global machine tool consumption decreased by $13.1 billion, or 13.8%, to $82.1 billion in 2019. Therefore, 2019 had the lowest level of machine tool consumption since 2010, when much of the global economy was just starting to recover from the Great Recession. And, in an about face of 2018, 12 out of the top 15 consuming countries decreased their machine tool consumption in 2019. While there was a recovery in 2017 and 2018, the global machine tool market has essentially contracted since 2011. Much of this contraction is due to China, which most certainly led the contraction in 2019. China’s 2019 consumption was $22.3 billion, falling $6.4 billion, or 25.3%. The decrease in China’s machine tool consumption accounted for nearly half of the global decline. The Chinese automotive industry, among others, slowed toward the end of 2019. The Chinese economy was also hit particularly hard by the quarantines to contain COVID-19. As a result, China’s machine tool consumption will likely see another significant decline in 2020, perhaps another 15-25%, or roughly $5 billion. China’s machine tool consumption accounted for 27.2% of the market in 2019. This was the first time China’s machine tool consumption accounted for less than 30% of the global market VNMG Insert since 2008. And the country’s share of the global market could fall again in 2020 as work moves toward Southeast Asian countries not hit as hard by COVID-19 and Mexico, which continues to claim a larger presence in global manufacturing. Mexico consumed $2.5 billion in machine tools in 2019. That was its third highest total ever and its eighth consecutive year with more than $2 billion in consumption. Mexico consumed 9.1% more machine tools in 2019 than it did in 2018. Of the top 15 consumers, Mexico had the second largest increase (only Brazil increased more). Mexico’s 2019 growth was also the fifth fastest in the world. Three of the faster-growing countries were significantly smaller consumers, making their higher rates of growth much easier to achieve. Mexico maintained its ranking as the eighth-largest tungsten carbide inserts machine tool consumer in the world in 2019. However, the country significantly increased its share of global machine tool consumption to 3.1% from 2.4%. In 2019, Mexico consumed its largest share of the global machine tool market ever. The U.S., the world’s second-largest consumer, bought $9.7 billion of machine tools in 2019, which was down just 1.6% from 2018. That made 2019 the U.S.’s third-highest year for machine tool consumption since 1998. Of the 12 countries that decreased consumption in the top 15 consumers, the U.S. recorded the smallest decline. As a result, the U.S. significantly increased its share of the global machine tool market. In 2019, the U.S. consumed 11.9% of the world’s machine tools. This was the U.S.’s highest share of global consumption since 2001. This is significant because 2001 was the start of significant offshoring of U.S. manufacturing due to artificially low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve to help the country recover from the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Since the end of the Great Recession in late 2009 or early 2010, the pendulum has swung back as manufacturing returns to North America, more specifically the U.S. and Mexico. The generally rising share of global machine tool consumption for both countries during that time is evidence of the reshoring or near-shoring trend. COVID-19 has led several countries to lock down significant portions of their populations, which has led to a significant reduction in economic activity. It is quite possible that global machine tool consumption declines by 15% or more in 2020. If global machine tool consumption declines by 15%, it would drop below $70 billion for the first time since 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession. Global machine tool production has followed a similar pattern to consumption. In 2019, global machine tool production was $84.2 billion, which was a decrease of $12.9 billion, or 13.3%. Like global consumption, global production in 2019 fell to its lowest level since 2010. Only three of the 15 producers increased production in 2019: Brazil, France and Canada. China, the world’s largest producer of machine tools, decreased its production by $4.6 billion, or 23.1%. China’s machine tool production has decreased six of the last eight years, falling to its lowest level since 2009. In 2019, China’s share of global production was 23.1%, which was its lowest share since 2008, when it was 16.4%. Brazil was the lone country in the top 10 producers that increased its machine tool production. The country increased its production by 12.6% to $1.6 billion. Every one of the other top 10 producers cut their production. Germany and the U.S. were the only two that decreased their production less than 10%. As a result, both Germany and the U.S. increased their share of global machine tool production. Other countries in the top 15 producers to increase their global share of production include Italy, Austria, France, U.K. and Canada. Results of the survey show a small but noticeable shift in machine tool production to Europe from Asia. The World Machine Tool Survey contains much more information, including not only consumption and production data, but also data related to imports and exports of the top 60 machine consuming countries. The report includes import and export data on high-level machine types. To purchase the report and the data supporting it, visit gardnerintelligence.com. The Cemented Carbide Blog: Carbide Inserts post comment

Multitasking Machine Combines CNC, Data Driven Platform for Faster Cycle Times [01 Dec 2023|05:59am] Norton, a Saint-Gobain brand, has introduced its Paradigm diamond wheels, which feature a new bond designed to deliver high grinding performance on carbide round tools, and periphery grinding on carbide and cermet inserts. The wheels are said to provide fast cycle Carbide Milling Inserts times, fine cutting edges and reduced cost per part. The wheels are custom-manufactured for user requirements and are available for Anca, Makino, Rollomatic, Star, Walter and other grinding systems. According to the company, the Paradigm fluting wheels enable one-pass flute grinding at higher feed rates. In periphery grinding of inserts, the wheels are said to create finer edges, achieve longer wheel life and speed APMT Insert production rates. The wheels are capable of online truing and dressing for lights-out production. Additionally, they are wear- and load-resistant for improved grinding on 6 to 12 percent cobalt, and are said to offer better control over core growth. A higher grain retention and a uniform structure provide a high G ratio (the ratio of material removal rate versus wheel wear) for longer wheel life and higher material removal rates. The wheels’ low specific cutting energy also enables faster grinding with a lower power draw and less burn, the company says. The Cemented Carbide Blog: surface milling Inserts post comment

5 Mistakes We Find in Most CNC Machine Programs [29 Nov 2023|01:39am] There are three ways to create programs that run on CNC machines: manually write them, use a shopfloor-programmed conversational control or use a CAM system. The last is the most popular method of creating programs because almost every company that has CNC machine tools has Thread Cutting Insert a CAM system.  Just as a CNC control can be customized through parameter settings to work with a wide variety of CNC machine tools, so too can a CAM system be tailored to work with a wide variety of CNC controls. However, given the numerous CNC functions involved, customizing the CAM system to a given CNC machine and control can be challenging. To complicate matters, most CNCs allow users to handle nearly every programming feature multiple ways based on preference. With cutter radius compensation, for instance, the user can decide whether the generated tool path is for the cutter centerline or the work surface. Choices are often based on legacy because CNCs are “backward compatible.” This means they allow older programming methods to be used for years (or decades) after newer, more convenient features became available. Given the these complexities, most companies tend to quit customizing CAM system G-code output as soon as they get something that works. They stop short of making the CAM system output G-code programs that are properly structured, or that takes advantage of current, more desirable CNC features. Resulting G-code programs are lengthier, less efficient and more cumbersome than their manually created counterparts. Here are four suggestions to help you streamline G-code programs created by CAM systems. Certain CNC features are designed to make life easier for manual programmers. The tradeoff is often more work for setup people and operators. Consider tool nose radius compensation, a turning center feature that deals with imperfections caused by the tiny radius on single-point cutting tools. While it simplifies programming, CNC-based tool nose radius compensation requires the setup person to enter tool nose radius data. All current CAM systems can output tool paths based on a specified tool nose radius. If you make your CAM system do so, you can save setup time and minimize potential for mistakes. Other CNC features that can have an impact on operator time and effort include other compensation functions like machining center based fixture offsets, tool length compensation and cutter radius compensation, as well as turning center based geometry and wear offsets. While they may not regularly modify CNC programs, setup people and operators should be able to understand what a G-code program is doing. This can be a direct function of how your CAM system generates G-code programs. Your CAM system should take advantage of CNC features like decimal point programming (I still see CNC words including real numbers generated with fixed format), radius designation for circular commands using R instead of I, J and K, and canned cycles instead of multiple G00/G01 motion commands. It should also utilize coordinate manipulation features when applicable, like coordinate rotation, single direction positioning, mirror image and scaling. CAM systems are notorious for generating G-code programs with redundancy. Unnecessary, redundant commands in a program increase program length and can confuse operators. A CAM system may, for example, include the motion type G00, G01, G02 or G03 in every motion command even though motion type is modal. Conversely, I’ve seen resulting G-code programs that do not allow the rerunning of cutting tools — a task commonly required when running the first workpiece in a production run — or when critical finishing tools are replaced after wearing out. Rerunning a tool requires that all commands needed to get the program running be included at the beginning of every tool. Spindle probes have become very popular and are especially helpful during setup, but they are also becoming an integral part of many CNC cycles as well. They are commonly used to automate trial machining operations, ensuring the correctness of a surface machined for the first time with a new cutting tool. They can also be used when raw material to be machined varies from part to part, which is commonly the case with castings and forgings. With these kinds of applications, the CAM-system-generated CNC program must dynamically deal with probing results in real time. For example, stock on a workpiece surface may be varying from 0.05 inch to 0.25 inch. Rather than waste time by making the number of passes for the worst-case scenario, the spindle probe can determine the amount of material that must currently be machined. If it determines that there is 0.2 inch of material on a surface to be milled, the CNC program must make the appropriate number of machining passes. Since the number of passes will vary from part to part, many of the resulting machining commands cannot be performed directly by the CAM-system-generated G-code program. Instead, the CAM system must have the G-code program call a parametric program (custom macro in FANUC terms) that resides in the CNC control and makes the correct number of passes based on the results of the probing operation. tungsten carbide inserts The Cemented Carbide Blog: carbide round insert post comment

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